Hotel & Hospitality Industry Veteran Brings 35 Years of Experience to New Role
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LuxUrban Hotels Inc. (“LuxUrban” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: LUXH), a hospitality company which utilizes an asset-light business model to lease entire hotels on a long-term basis in partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, today announced that it has named hotel and hospitality industry veteran Robert Arigo as its Chief Operating Officer, effective March 15, 2024.
“Robert is a highly accomplished, hands-on, and seasoned hotel executive who adds depth and experience to LuxUrban at an important point in our growth”Post this
Mr. Arigo, who brings 35 years of industry experience to LuxUrban, will be primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company’s hotel portfolio, with a focus on enhancing property-level operations, optimizing supply chain relationships, elevating the customer experience, and pursuing ancillary revenue opportunities across the Company’s portfolio. Mr. Arigo will be augmenting the Company’s operations team to support him in this new role.
“Robert is a highly accomplished, hands-on, and seasoned hotel executive who adds depth and experience to LuxUrban at an important point in our growth,” said Brian Ferdinand, Chairman and Co-CEO of the Company. “Robert’s inspirational approach to leadership has allowed him to develop and implement financial, marketing, and revenue management platforms for some of the largest and most well-known brands in our industry and we are confident that his relationships, knowledge, and know-how will support our planned expansion and evolution. LuxUrban has grown significantly over the last 18 months since our IPO, and we believe we are well positioned to continue to expand in the years ahead. As we continue to evolve and mature, we are in the process of creating an organizational structure that more accurately reflects the Company we are today and, more importantly, the Company we expect to be tomorrow. The primary focus of this process is increased industry representation throughout the Company, and Robert’s appointment reflects our commitment to achieving this objective. We welcome Robert to LuxUrban and are excited to begin our work together.”
Mr. Arigo joins LuxUrban from M&R Hotel Management, which provides hospitality development, turnaround, and management services to a portfolio of hotels throughout the United States, where he served as Vice President beginning in 2018. Prior to this, Mr. Arigo was Senior Director of Operations at Hersha Hospitality Management (HHM), a hotel management company that operates over 240 properties, including luxury and lifestyle properties, across the United States and Canada.Prior to joining HHM, Mr. Arigo served as the Chief Operating Officer of Widewaters Hotels, a leading developer and owner of branded and independent hotels and extended stay properties, in which position he was integral in shaping that company’s growth and operational efficiency. Mr. Arigo’s executive experience also includes Highgate Hotels, Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa, Crestline Hotels, Interstate Hotels Corporations, and Marriott. Mr. Arigo’s work has been recognized with awards that included “Hotel Region of the Year,” “Financial Leadership Award,” “Hotel of the Year,” and “Award of Excellence.”
“I am very excited to join LuxUrban at this pivotal moment in its development,” said Mr. Arigo. “LuxUrban is pursuing a large opportunity pipeline by employing a unique business model that I believe offers great promise, and I look forward to helping the Company implement its ambitious growth strategies.”
Mr. Arigo succeeds Jimmie Chatmon as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Chatmon will remain with LuxUrban in the newly created position of Director of Revenue Management, effective March 15, 2024.
“Jimmie is an exceptional entrepreneur who has played an integral role in LuxUrban’s growth, and we are grateful that he will remain a member of the team in this vital position,” said Mr. Ferdinand.
LuxUrban Hotels Inc.
LuxUrban Hotels Inc. utilizes an asset light business model to secure the long-term operating rights for entire hotels through Master Lease Agreements (MLA) and rents out, on a short-term basis, hotel rooms to business and vacation travelers. The Company is aggressively building a portfolio of hotel properties in destination cities by capitalizing on the dislocation in commercial real estate markets and the large amount of debt maturity obligations on those assets coming due with a lack of available options for owners of those assets. LuxUrban’s MLA allows owners to hold onto their assets and retain their equity value while LuxUrban operates and owns the cash flows of the operating business for the life of the MLA. Through its partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the largest hotel company in the world by rooms, LuxUrban gains several competitive advantages including joint branding for marketing, sales, and distribution, capital allocation from Wyndham for each hotel it acquires, and ongoing customer support and training across its portfolio.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The statements contained in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Generally, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this release may include, for example, statements with respect to the success of the Company’s collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, scheduled property openings, expected closing of noted lease transactions, the Company’s ability to continue closing on additional leases for properties in the Company’s pipeline, as well the Company’s anticipated ability to commercialize efficiently and profitably the properties it leases and will lease in the future. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations and belief concerning future developments and their potential effect on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results of performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our public filings with the SEC, including in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and any updates to those factors as set forth in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or other public filings with the SEC. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Contacts
Shanoop Kothari
President, Co-Chief Executive Officer & Chief Financial Officer
LuxUrban Hotels Inc.
[email protected]
Devin Sullivan
Managing Director
The Equity Group Inc.
[email protected]
Conor Rodriguez, Analyst
[email protected]
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